Mario--This is a sad but typical story of some pet stores. They do not have the slightest clue about the welfare of gliders. You did the right thing by trying to help and educate the people selling the gliders.
There is not much more you could have done short of buying the gliders. The problem with buying the gliders is that the pet store will just replenish their "stock". Some pet stores look at gliders as profit for the store. Buying them only keeps the problem going on and on.
Your options were very limited here, so do not feel bad. And guess what? What you did is exactly the right thing! You can also report them to the USDA is they are unlicensed. Here is a link to see if this store is licensed by the USDA:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/publications.htmlScroll about halfway down on the left hand column and look for facility lists. If they are not on the list, report them. To sell or even give a glider away, you must have a USDA license. I suspect these people did not. The
breeder they bought them from must be licensed as well. So maybe by reporting them, you can shut down the
breeder and the store. You may be able to close the source of the gliders as well. It may have been too late for the gliders because sometimes it takes awhile to get a USDA agent out to the location in question. That is why what you did was exactly the right thing--trying to keep them alive!
There are other animal welfare agencies that might have helped in this case as well. If the gliders are in dirty conditions or being improperly taken care of, any animal welfare agency can help. You could try the SPCA chapter in your area or PETA or agencies similar to these.
It is truly a sad situation. So check that list and make that call. You still can do something to help other gliders and those gliders might not have died in vain. Now the agencies will have proof that they died and were improperly taken care of while at that pet store. Maybe their deaths will save other gliders. They need a voice and Mario, you can speak for them. Let us all know how it turns out.
I would also like to point out that not all pet stores are bad. I got my gliders from a pet store. The conditions there are clean. They were receiving a good
diet. They had places to sleep and
toys to play with. The staff was very knowledgeable. My gliders were healthy when I went in for the initial
vet check and they are extremely friendly. The pet store I bought them from had a USDA license because I checked that out before getting my two. It is other pet stores that are not like this one that need to be shut down. This
sounds like one of them that needs to be shut down.
John (Rocky & Adriene)
<small>[ 03-08-2002, 03:05 PM: Message edited by: PepPony ]</small>